Aeroplane



C. H. SWANSON.

AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 10. 1918.

Patented Feb. 17, 1920.

3 SHEETSSHEEI I- WI TNESS:

C. R. SWANSON.

AEROPLANE.

APPLXCATION FILED OCT. 10. 19l8.

1, 3 31, 22 1 Patented Feb. 17, 1920.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

1N VEN TOR.

QQQDI BY Qm R suhknson L I ATTORNEY-S c. R. SWANSON.

AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT.10. 918- 1,331,221 Patented Feb. 17,1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

INVENTOR.

UNITED fiARL It. SWANSQN, 0F MARSHALL, MINNESOTA.

' AEROPLANE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

- Application filed October 10, 1918. Serial No. 257,599.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CARL R. Swnnson, a citizen of the United States,residin at Marshall, in the county of Lyon and tate of Minnesota, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Aeroplanes; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descri tionof the invention, such as will enableotiiers skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an aeroplane and particularly to a machine ofthe helicopter type adapted to navigate either on air, land or water.

The invention. has for an object to provide a novel and improvedconstruction of raising or elevating propellers disposed to operate in avertical plane and in casin s so that their action may be directly appied, said casings being provided with a valved upper portion toconstitute when closed a sustaining plane.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improvedconstruction of horizontally disposed propellers for driving the machineforward or backward, said propellers being adapted to be swung upon avertical axis for the purpose of turning or steering the machine.

A further object of the invention is to 1'0- vide an improvedconstruction of parac lute provided with inflatable members andpivotally mounted above the machine so as to sustain the same whendesired or to be folded and lowered when not in use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improvedconstruction of rudder mechanism for steering purposes, the membersthereof being separable and adapted to be folded toward and securedagainst the body of the machine.

A further object of the invention is to provide traction Wheels for themachine having thereon propelling cups extending laterally from thewheels so as to act against the air in the forward movement of thewheels and not interfere with the wheels when in use upon the ground. 4

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation with the lifting propelleror blade casings in section and the sealing cover removed;

Fig. 2 IS a top plan with the parachute staff in section and theinclosing cover removed;

Fig. 3 is a detail section of the parachute mounting;

Fig. 4 is a similar cross section of one of the drivin connections forthe lifting propellers on Tine 44, Fig.-1;'

Fig. 5 is a detail section of the rudder mounting; and

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section on line 6-6, Fig. 1.

Like numerals refer to like parts in the several figures of thedrawings.

The numeral 10 designates the frame or car of the machine which may beof any desired material, construction or configuration and is providedwith the usual traction wheels 11 mounted upon the rear axle 12 and thefront axle 13 in the usual manner, both axles being adapted to be drivenfrom the main drivlng shaft 14. This driving shaft may be actuated by.any desired type of motor located in proper position to balance theframe or car 10, for instance, as shown at 15 where the shaft 16 thereofis connected by the driving chain 17 with the main shaft 14, as shown inFig. 1.

At the front and rear of the car 10 driving propellers 18 of similarconstruction are mounted by means of a shaft 19 having a pivotal bearingat 20 upon a vertical axis 21, and extending from this bearing is alever arm 22 provided with a rack sector 23 for the purpose of swingingthe propeller in a horizontal plane. The shafts 19 may be driven fromthe main shaft 14 in any desired manner, for instance by means of thevertical shafts 24 carrying the beveled gears 25 meshing with thecooperating gear 26 on the shaft .19. The shaft 24 is driven in anysuitable manner from the shaft 14. For the purpose of shifting thepropellers 18in a horizontal plane for steering or turning the car anoperating shaft 27 is provided and has at each end a pinion 28cooperating with the geared sector 23. This shaft is also provided withthe hand wheel 29 to effect a rotation thereof. As shown in Fig. 1, theoperating shaft 27 is disposed in a horizontal plane below the shaft 19and connected with a gear 30 upon the stub shaft of the pinion 28 bymeans of a chain 31. The propellers 18 herein shown are of the preferredtype but any desired type thereof may be used.

he traction wheels are provided upon their outer periphery with a seriesof blades 32, these being preferably cup-shaped or semi-spherical withtheir concaved portion Patented Feb. 17, 1920.

directed toward the direction of travel. If

the traction wheels be driven in unison with the driving propellers, thecups thereon act to effect a propelling movement in water, and are sodisposed upon the outer periphcry of the wheel that they do notinterfere with the driving of the machine upon an ordinary street orroad when used for land transportation. These cups also act as propellerblades'if the machine be used upon the water as the body of the machineis closed water-tight and constitutes a boat or vessel construction.This body 10 may if desired be provided with a deck portion 32 fromwhich a. cabin 33 arises and is provided with any desired type of glazedopenings 34. When the car is to be used as a vessel or boat, this cabinmay be effectually sealed from water by means of a removable roofsection 35 adapted to be clamped water-tight thereon by any desiredmeans, for-instance the clamps 36 as shown in Fig. 4.

For the purpose of elevating or lifting the machine in the air a seriesof suitably disposed lifting propellers or blades are arranged thereonfor instance as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. These propellers 37 are eachsimilar in construction and a series thereof disposed at each side ofthe cabin 33 and each propeller is inclosed within a casing 38 opened atits lower end 39 and adapted .to be closed at its upper end 40 whendesired, by means of a pivoted valve 41. When closed the series of thesevalves constitute a sustaining plane and when open permit the casing toconstitute air funne s by which the most efli-cient action of thelifting propellers is secured. For the purpose of simultaneouslyoperating the cover members 40 of the series of propellers the pivots 42thereof are provided with crank arms 43, these arms being connectedtogether by a rod 44 adapted to be controlled by any desired means, forinstance a lever connection 45 as shown in Fig. 1. I

For the purpose of steering the machine when used upon the water orotherwise, a rudder member 46 is provided and comprises oppositesections 47 normally secured together when. in use by connectors 48.These sections are ivotally mounted at 49 and extending therefrom arethe operating cables 50, each provided with a connecting hook 51 forattachment to a pull rod 52 which extends through a water-tight packing53 in the body of the car. From the rods 52 steering lines 54 extend toa post 55 located in any desired position and are op positely wound upona drum 56 thereon. As shown in Fig. 2 this post 55 may be located at thefront of the car and provided wit-h the usual steering wheel 57 whichmay be also connected for operating the front wheels 11 in the usualmanner. When the sections of the rudder are disconnected they may befolded in opposite directions against the rear of the car, as shown bydotted lines in Fig. 5 and secured in folded position by the cables 50extending to the fixed posts 58.

Any desired driving means may be used for actuating the driving shafts60 for the lifting propellers 37, a preferred form thereof being shownin detail in Figs. 4 and 6. In this construction the main shaft 14 isprovided with a beveled gear 61 meshing -with a coiiperatinggear 62 upona cross shaft 63, this shaft being mounted in a suitable standard 64 andcarrying a sliding clutch member 65 adapted to engage a cooperating head66 upon the hub of the gear 62. These parts are duplicated on oppositesides of the main shaft and may be jointly operated by means of levers67 Connected by a rod' 68 and pivotally supported upon the arms 69 ofthe standard 64. One of the levers 67 may be provided with the usualhandle 70. The outer end of the cross shaft 63 is provided with abeveled gear 71 meshing with a coiiperating gear 72 on the counter-shaft73, while the shafts 60 of the lifting propellers are each provided attheir lower ends with a beveled gear 74 adapted to mesh with the gear 72or similar gears.

In the event of an accident or stopping of the motors or when additionalsustaining means is desired when the machine is in the air a parachutemember 75 is provided and comprises an ordinary flexible folding deviceor cover 76 pivotally connected at 77 t0 the upper end of a standard 78which is mounted by a pivot 79 to swing in a vertical plane. Thisstandard may be supported in .any desired manner for instance by meansof a post 80 secured to the body of the car and adapted to be detachablyconnected therewith by means of the socket 81 and the removable bolt 82,as shown in Fig. 3. This parachute may be tilted at the desiredinclination by means of cords or cables 83 extending from eyes 84 uponthe standard 78 and connected to the car in any desired manner. Beneaththe folding cover 76 of the parachute one or more inflatable bags 85 aresecured and connected by means of a pipe line 86 with a supply tank 87for gas or compressed air. This pipe 86 is also provided with a suitablevalve 88 to control the flow of gas or air to the inflatable bags .85.When these bags are inflated they act to open .the parachute and also'fornr a. buoyant member to assist in sustaining the machine in the air.y

The operation of this invention will be apparent from the foregoingdescription from which it will be seen that when the machine is used asan aeroplane it may be raised by the helicopter or lifting blades anddrlven jointly by the front and rear propellers assisted by the wingedtraction wheels. When the' desired elevation has been reached thelifting blades may be stopped and their casings closed to form asupporting plane at each side of the body while the driving movement maybe continued and its direction changed by shifting the front and rearpropellers in a horizontal plane by the means shown. The drivingconnections disclosed permit the operation of the several propellers inunison or separately as the conditions of use may dictate and when at anelevation above the ground additional supportin means is provided by theparachute carrie by the body Which is also capable of a tilting movementtoward the front or rear in order to direct an ascending or descendingmovement of the machine. This parachute is also ada ted to be opened byair or gas pressure Which affords additional buoyant supporting meansfor the weight of the machine. l/Vhen used upon land,.it is adapted totravel upon the ordinary streets or roads as the traction wheels act asan ordinary automobile. When used upon the water the body or car forms aboat, the cabin of which may' be sealed to afford protection and thedriving propellers operated to propel the machine in either directionand control its movement. The construction of rudder also assists in theguiding of the machine upon water, and when used upon land this ruddermay be folded out of operative position. It will be seen that theinvention presents a structure capable of use either in the air, uponland, or upon water and covers all uses of such' a machine for war orcommercial purposes.

While the details of construction of this machine have been fullydescribed and also the driving connections, the invention isnotspecifically limited thereto as any desired means for accomplishingthese functions may be used as' defined by the following claims.

What I claim is i 1.- In an aeroplane, a body having a centrallongitudinal cabin, a air of lon 'itudinal series of lifting propel ersalong the opposite sides of the cabin, casings inclosing saidpropellers, movable closures pivoted within the upper portions of saidcasings, means for simultaneously operating said closures, drivingmeans, and gearings for each series of lifting propellers having meansfor connection to and disconnection from the driving means.

2. In an aeroplane, a. body portion provided with a cabin, a removableclosure for said cabin, vertically disposed driving propellers atopposite ends of said body, liftin propellers disposed at opposite sidesof said cabin, casings surrounding said lifting propellers, movableclosures for the upper portions of said casings, and means forsimultaneously operating said closures.

3. In an aeroplane, a body portion, vertically disposed drivingpropellers at the front and rear thereof, means for shifting saidpropellers in a horizontal plane, lifting propellers disposed atopposite sides of said body, a casing surrounding said liftingpropellers, a movable cover disposed at the top of said casings toproduce a plane surface, traction Wheels carried by said body, and meansfor driving said lifting propellers 1ndependently of the drivingpropellers.

4:. In an aeroplane, a body portion, vertically disposed drivinpropellers at the front and rear thereof, means for shifting saidpropellers in a horizontal plane, lifting propellers disposed atopposite sides of said body, a casing surrounding said liftingpropellers, a movable cover disposed at the top of said casings toproduce a plane surface, traction wheels carried by said body, means fordrivin said lifting propellers independently of the driving propellers,and wings extending laterally from said traction wheels.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

CARL R. SWANSON. Witnesses: H. REGNIER,

MARIE FAULON.

